Can Copied DVDs Be Played on a Standard DVD Player?

This is a question asked by many people who are thinking of purchasing DVD copy software. Almost computer DVD drives are able to read just about any DVD, but some standard DVD players experience occasional difficulties playing copied DVDs. People wonder, once they have backed up their DVD collections using the software, whether they will be able to use standard DVD players to play back the DVDs, or if they will have to use their computers to play their copied DVDs.

This is an important question, because you would hardly want to be stuck using your computer to watch movies all the time. What did you spend all that hard-earned money on your home theater system for then?

The answer to this question is yes, most standard DVD players are, in fact, able to read and play copied DVDs. This does depend on how new your DVD player is, however. Players that have been produced within the last two years have been designed to include the ability to play copied DVDs. With the popularity of DVD copy software growing constantly, manufacturers would lose out to their competition if they did not include this ability in their products.

For those whose DVD players were produced more than two years ago, however, you should definitely ensure that your player is able to play copied DVDs before you purchase any DVD copy software. You would hardly want to purchase the software only to find out you are unable to use any of the backup DVDs you create.

There are a few ways of finding out whether or not your DVD player will play copied DVDs. Perhaps the easiest method is to simply try playing a copied DVD with your current player. You need not purchase the DVD copy software to do this. It is quite likely that your someone among your friends is already making use of such software, and it would be a simple matter to find out who that is and borrow a copied DVD from them. Alternatively, some DVD copy software developers offer free trials for their products, and you could download one of these trials, create a DVD backup copy and attempt to play it with your player.

You could also take the time to read through the instruction manual that came with your DVD player (if you haven't thrown it away yet!). This should tell you the various disc formats that your DVD player is able to play. Any player that can handle Video CD (VCD) formats, should be able to play copied DVDs. If you are unwilling to take the risk of your player not being able to play copied DVDs, the most direct solution would be to call the manufacturer of your DVD player and speak with them. Their customer service staff should be able to tell you if your DVD player will be able to play the copied DVDs that you intend to create.